Kapok Pillows

May 5, 2005

Kapok is a silky fiber harvested in the rainforests of the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, tropical America and Africa. After the ripe pods of the tree are harvested, the seeds are removed and the fluffy fiber is meticulously cleaned and dried.

Kapok is an alternative to conventional pillow stuffing. It is soft like down, yet supportive — rivaling buckwheat in its efficiency. It helps preserve rainforests and the indigenous people who harvest it.

Unfortunately, kapok pillows can only be sold as decorative items in the U.S., because they are not treated for flammability. Federal law prohibits the sale of untreated natural fibers for use in products intended for sleeping. We feel this is unnecessary — see our examination of the issue of fire retardant chemicals.

We are Anwar Kapok Trader from Pakistan, we are mainly produce Kapok Fibre in large quantity. We have available finest quality of kapok Fibre for spinning, filling of pillow, cushion,mattress, zafu, insulation material. So anyone interested do contact us frankly and can get more information according to kapok Fibre.

Hello all,
My name is Lara Colley, I am a student studying Natural Resource Conservation at the University of Florida in the U.S. I am researching kapok for a Global Forests class. I am attempting to find out some hard-to-find information on the supply chain for kapok.
I am specifically looking to find out:

1. If the importers get their kapok mainly from natural forests or plantations and from which country?
2. If the forests are certified sustainable?
3. Approximately how much the individuals who harvest kapok earn?
4. Are the forests community or privately owned?
5. What kind of mark-up is involve in the transfer of kapok from harvester to middle-person or processor (whatever the case may be)?

I realize these are rather sensitive questions, but again I am a student and will not be sharing this information with anyone other than my instructor and my 9 classmates.
I thank you in advance for your time and for any help.
Sincerely,
Lara Colley

We are from Indonesia, we sell Kapok filled mattress in various size, it is 100 % GUARANTEED Kapok fibre filled inside. They are light, easy to carry, and price is very competitive. Please contact exindoglobal@yahoo.com. Phone: 62 31 7498424. Thank you

Hello
I am working in Tamil Nadu, in South india with hill tribes. Our community grows kapok and currently sells it at highly exploited prices to brokers which rip them off. I am trying to help them sell it overseas, but don’t know anyone that wants it. It seems all you guys do.
Please e-mail me at holdinghands_int@yahoo.com. We can come to a price and shipping agreement, fair for you and the tribals. Help fair trade

I’m looking for kapok in bulk as well. I’d like to find a large bale already exported to the US. It seems that suppliers online are limited to 5 lb packs. I may be able to get a large bale in India and export it myself, but that might be a little more difficult that what I’d like. But if I can’t find a bale in the US, would anyone else like to go in on a shipment with me? I’d be willing to find a local supplier if a few US-based businesses would like to split the import/export costs.